The Monster
by littlemagicme
Summary: An innocent day in the kitchen leads to reconciliation between the two sisters, and a life changing adventure.
1. truth

**I own nothing!  
****Warning: This story contains child abuse.  
FYI: Anna is about 13 and Elsa is about 15 (just saying)  
Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Anna had given up trying to coax Elsa out of her bedroom a long time ago. She had taken to roaming the halls on her own. The younger princess would spend her days talking to the paintings and, occasionally, Elsa's silent door, but even that lost its fun. On one especially boring day, Anna found herself sitting at the small table in the kitchen. The cook, Kai, watched the girl for a moment before returning to seasoning the pork. "Princess Anna, is there something I can get for you?"

Anna glanced up. "No thank you, Kai. There is just nothing to do."

The cook tilted his head to the side for a moment, trying to come up with something for the child to do. "Aren't there books for you to read?"

"Read them all." Anna replied.

"Well what if you rode your bike?" the cook suggested.

Anna sighed, "It got taken away after I crashed into the suit of armor for the fifth time."

Kai glanced at Anna again, wondering how one could crash into something five times. Shaking the thought from his head, he tried to think of something for the princess to do. "Well…" he began slowly, as an idea grew in him, "would you like to help me make dinner?"

"Could I?" Anna's eyes lit up in excitement.

The cook chuckled. "I don't mind. Here, take these to the sink and wash the dirt off of them," he instructed, handing Anna a bowl of potatoes.

Once Anna had finished, Kia had set up a little space for her at the table. He quickly showed her how to peel the potatoes and warned her to be careful with the knife, before leaving the girl to her work. Kai continued his work and chatted with the princess. When Anna was finished with the potatoes, he carried them to the stove to begin cooking them. Then, he handed Anna a bowl of washed carrots, asking her to chop the tops of and peel them as well. Anna happily completed the task. As she was finishing the last carrot, Kai was pulling a batch of cookies out of the oven.

"Princess Anna, would you like to decorate the cookies?" He asked, knowing that dessert was Anna's favorite.

"Yes!" Anna exclaimed.

Kai laughed and set the tray of cookies and a large bowl of white and another bowl of blue frosting in front of her. "Takes these cups, go into the pantry, and find the chocolate and sprinkles. Then pour them into the cups." The cook instructed.

Anna did as she was told. By the time she had found all of the sprinkles, the cookies were cool enough to begin decorating. Anna spent almost two hours decorating. Kai was amazed by the princess' eye for detail. By the time Anna was done, it was getting close to dinner time and Kai sent her out of the kitchen to go wash up.

* * *

The royal family sat around the dining room table, quietly enjoying the roast pork, mashed potatoes, and baked beans with carrots. No one spoke, as usual. The King and Queen seemed content with the silence, Elsa sat nervously, and Anna fidgeted. When dessert was brought out, the King scrutinized the cookies in front of him. "Master cook," he called to Kai, "do you spend all of your time decorating cookies down in the kitchen." The King's tone was cold, with an undertone of warning.

"No, your majesty, I-" Kai began.

"I decorated the cookies father!"Anna exploded with excitement. "Don't you like them?"

The King looked at his younger daughter, who began to shrink into her chair under his gaze. "No" he stated simply.

"Why?" Anna asked.

"Because you are a princess," the King replied with anger rising in his voice, "not some kitchen hand. I forbid you to ever enter the kitchen again."

Anna's fearful expression slowly morphed into anger. "It's not fair! Every day, for years now, I have wondered around this castle. You don't pay attention to me. You took my bike. Now, you forbid me to spent time in the kitchen. I'm not even allowed to be around my own sister!"

Anna was stopped by the sound of a quiet sniffle. She looked at Elsa, sitting quietly at the other side of the table looking down at her plate. There was a single tear on elder girl's cheek. Anna looked to see what held Elsa's attention. On the plate, was the cookie Anna spent the most time decorating. It was coated in blue frosting with a white snowman. He had a chocolate top hat and sprinkle eyes, nose and mouth. Suddenly Anna remembered the old question she would to ask, standing outside of Elsa's door, 'Do you want to build a snowman?'

Anna was pulled from her thoughts by her father's voice. It seemed he had seen Elsa's tear as well. "Elsa," he growled, "control yourself. "

Something snapped in Elsa as her head lifted to look at her father with hate in her crystal blue eyes. Suddenly, she stood up and, grabbing Anna's hand, began to march out of the dining hall. The king stood at his place at the table, "Elsa! Come back here."

"I'm going to show her." Elsa replied without stopping.

The king began to turn red with anger. "No, you will not. Elsa, come back here now." As Elsa reached the door with Anna in tow the King yelled, "Elsa, come back here before I disown you!"

The blonde teenager whipped around. "Go ahead," she snarled, before dragging her sister out of the room.

The King moved to chase after them, but found his feet frozen to the ground.

* * *

Anna remained quiet the entire time her sister dragged her through the castle. Finally, Elsa pulled Anna into the blonde's bedroom. "Elsa, whaomph." The younger girl was cut off by a bone crushing hug. It only took her a minute to return the gesture. The two girls stood in each other's arms until Anna realized her shoulder was wet. Quietly, she asked, "Elsa, what happened?"

"I'm so sorry Anna," Elsa sobbed, "he made me. I didn't want to leave you all alone or ignore you. He wouldn't let me spent time with you. There were threats. He would hit me, yell at me, curse at me. I had no choice but to do as he said. He even threatened to hurt you if I did not obey."

Tears began to form in Anna's eyes as she stroked her sister's hair, trying to calm the blonde down. After Elsa's tears subsided, Anna asked, "What was it that you wanted to show me?"

Elsa pulled back from Anna. "Go sit on the bed, and please, don't be afraid?" Anna could hear the worry in Elsa's voice and did as she was asked.

Before her very eyes, Elsa began to move her hands in a circular motion. Something began to form around them and she propelled it up towards the ceiling. There it burst and white flakes began to fall. Anna's eyes were wide in awe. "Is this… snow?" she asked. Elsa nodded. "Why did you hide this from me?"

Elsa sighed, stepping closer to Anna. "When we were very young, I hurt you with my powers. You almost died," Elsa explained as she twirled the streak of white in Anna's hair. "That is how you got this." Elsa gave the strands of hair a slight tug, just enough to bring Anna's attention to it. "It was an accident. Your memory was wiped and I was shut away. I would never want to hurt you, but father never forgave me. He told me I was a monster and not fit to be in the company of other people."

Anna had tears running down her cheeks by the end of Elsa's story. "You are not the monster. He is."

Elsa held Anna close again. "Will you stay with me tonight, like we use to?"

Anna smiled into her sister's neck. "It would make me the happiest girl alive," she replied.

Elsa slowly led Anna to her bed, where the two girls laid together simply happy to have their each other back. "Elsa?" Anna asked quietly, "What if father comes. I don't want to lose you again."

"We will worry about him tomorrow; he won't be able to get us tonight. Look at the door." Elsa reassured he sister with a sly smile. Anna looked to see a thick wall of ice sealing them safely inside. Smiling, Anna inched closer to her sister, who she had though she lost forever.

"Elsa?"

"Yes, Anna?"

"You are the best sister I could ever ask for," Anna declared with a yawn. That night, both girls fell asleep with smiles on their faces.


	2. running

**Had some requests for a second chapter, so here it is! Thank you to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed. You're all great and please continue. :-)  
**

**I own nothing!  
****Warning: This story contains child abuse.  
FYI: Anna is about 13 and Elsa is about 15 (just saying)  
Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Elsa awoke to the sun shining through the window and a mane of auburn in her face. Anna was sprawled across the blonde, snoring softly. Both girls were still dressed in simple summer dresses from the day before. They hadn't even bothered taking off their shoes before they fell asleep. Elsa moved, trying to escape from under her sister. Anna groaned, "Five more minutes. Elsa, go back to sleep."

Elsa smirked. "I can't. The sky's awake, so I'm awake. So, we have to play."

Anna's eyes shot open. She quickly rolled off of her sister to look at the blonde. "After all this time, you still remember that?"

"Of course I do. I spent a lot of my time trying to retain every little detail about the stuff we did together." Elsa said. Then she let out a small chuckle, "Although I don't remember you having such bad bed head."

Anna gave her a playful glare, "Well your hair isn't exactly pristine either."

The sister's cheerful moment was shattered by a loud pounding at the door. "Elsa, I know you're in there, and Anna is with you. Open this door before I break it down." They heard their father yell from the hallway.

Anna jumped into Elsa's arms in fear. "What are we going to do?" She whispered.

"I have to let him in. Go stand in the corner out of the way." The blonde replied.

"You can't!" Anna argued.

Elsa sighed, "I have no choice. He has broken down my door before."

"The ice will stop him!"

"He has probably already accounted for it."

"Elsa! I'm going to start counting!" The king yelled.

"Anna, please." Elsa begged.

Anna relented, and scampered into the corner. Elsa walked towards the door, melting the ice. When she unlocked the door, it swung open so fast that she barely has time to jump out of its path. The King stormed into the room. He grabbed Elsa roughly by the shoulder and pushed her back until he had her pinned against the wall. "Who do you think you are?" His question was almost a whisper, and was eerily calm.

All Elsa did was whimper slightly, her eyes wide in pain. Her father asked his question again, with a little more force.

"I thought-"

The King cut Elsa's timid response off with a harsh laugh. "You thought? Monsters don't think." Spit flew out of his mouth, causing Elsa to flinch as it landed on her face.

Elsa began an apology, which was quickly silenced with a loud crack as the King backhanded her across the face. "Shut up!" He exclaimed.

"Stop!" Anna's voice suddenly came from the corner.

The King turned to see his younger daughter step out of the shadows. "Anna," he drawled, "I assume your sister showed you her power. Now do you understand why we keep this demon away from you?"

"No, I don't understand. She has had complete control whenever I see her." Anna said defiantly. "But what I do understand that what you are doing is wrong! Elsa is no monster." Anna approached her father cautiously. "Please, let her go."

Their Father laughed, "You know nothing." Then the King lunged at Anna.

"No!" Elsa screamed. At that moment, icy spikes appeared, stopping the King just as he was about to reach Anna.

The younger girl leaped away from the spikes, towards Elsa. The blonde took her sister's wrist and began to pull. "Run!" She gasped.

The two girls sprinted out of the room and down the hall. As they were passing through the gate, they heard the command, "Raise the bridge."

In front of them, the path began to lift. Elsa let go of Anna, "Keep going. We're going to have to jump. It's our only hope!"

Both girls leaped off of the draw bridge. Elsa landed safely of the other side. Anna didn't quite make it and was dangling off of the edge. "Elsa!" The younger girl yelled for help.

The blonde grabbed her sister and dragged her onto solid ground. A split second later, an arrow glanced off of the ground next to them. "The forest," Elsa panted.

Elsa led the way past the tree line, weaving around trunks, bounding over boulders, and ducking under branches. Finally, they stopped. Both girls were gasping for breath, when they heard it. Off in the distance, there was barking. "Oh, no," Anna groaned.

Elsa began to panic. "They're going to catch us, and it's my fault. Anna, I'm so sorry."

"Wait," Anna cut her off, "we still have a chance. Quick, climb this tree."

Luckily, they were in an old forest, where the trees grew tall, and close together. Once they were in the tree, Elsa and Anna could crawl through them. They continued moving away from the sounds of the dogs in this fashion until midday. By then, they were miles away from the castle and could not even hear the dogs anymore. They rested in the upper branches of an old apple tree. The fruit was slightly under ripe, and somewhat deformed, but to the hungry girls, they were tolerable. "Elsa," Anna spoke, "we can't go on running in our dresses."

"Why not?" Elsa questioned.

Anna raised an eyebrow, surprised Elsa didn't see what Anna thought was logical. "The skirt keeps getting snagged. Plus, without them, we will be able to move better. We'll be faster and quieter."

Elsa looked at Anna before scrutinizing her own torn and dirty skirt. "What do you suggest we do?"

Anna thought for a moment. "Your bloomers, they go to your knees, right?" She asked tentatively.

"Yes," Elsa responded, starting to understand what Anna was thinking.

"What if we cut of the skirt, and left the bodice?"

"Anna, we're princesses," Elsa countered. "We can't go running around in our bloomers."

"Who's going to see us?" Anna asked, starting to get annoyed.

"It isn't proper-" Elsa began as frost appeared on the branch she was sitting on.

"Who cares?" Anna yelled. She took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Elsa, I don't want to argue with you. You do what you want, but I will do what I want."

Before Elsa could stop her, Anna took her skirt and pulled at one of the tears. Once she had it up to the bodice, she picked at the stitches that held two pieces of her dress together. Finally, she was holding the bottom half of her dress, left in her bloomers. "You look ridiculous," Elsa commented.

"And you're the only one here to judge," Anna shot back, still irritated.

Elsa glanced at the cloth in Anna's hand. "What are you going to do with that? You can't just leave it around for someone to find."

"You're right," Anna muttered, more to herself than to Elsa. Her eyes darted around as she tried to think of some use for the extra material. "Oh!" She exclaimed as an idea formed. The younger girl climbed higher into the tree. When she came back down, she had the cloth twisted to form a lumpy pouch that she tied to her back. "Do you think we should move on before it gets dark?" Anna asked Elsa.

"Yes," Elsa answered. "Wait, what did you do to the skirt?"

"Filled it with apples. Now we can carry food with us." Anna replied with a smirk. "You sure you want to keep your dress?" She asked.

Elsa huffed and began ripping her own clothes until she matched Anna. They put half of Anna's apples in Elsa's skirt, which was then tied to the blonde's back, and moved on. They traveled quietly through the trees until the sun began to set, covering much more ground than they had that morning.

"How does this place look?" Elsa asked. They had come to a spot where two pine trees had grown together. A few branches grew together, creating little pockets the girls could sleep in without fear of falling out of the trees.

"I don't think we could find a better spot." Anna answered. She tilted her head to the side. "Do you hear that?" She asked.

Elsa listened for a moment. "Water?"

"I think so," Anna replied. "I'll go check." The redhead offered as she removed her pouch of apples and tied it to a branch. Elsa did the same and climbed down too. She waited at the base of the tree, warning Anna to stay within earshot. The younger girl assured the blonde that she would and began walking towards the sound of rushing water. A few minutes passed before Anna returned. "Elsa, you got to see this. It's only a short distance."

Elsa followed Anna about twenty yards to a line of shrubs. Anna pushed the plants aside, revealing a small pool at the base of a thirty foot waterfall. "This is beautiful," Elsa agreed, "but we should get a drink and go back to the tree before it gets dark."

Anna agreed, and the sisters were soon sitting in the pine trees again, watching the sun disappear behind the horizon. "Elsa?" Anna asked to get the blonde's attention.

"Yeah?" Elsa answered absentmindedly.

"I'm sorry about earlier, at the apple tree. I shouldn't have gotten angry with you."

Elsa looked over at Anna, "I love you. You know that, right?" Anna nodded. "We're sister, and we are just starting to get to know each other again. There are going to be times where we will bicker. On top of that, it has been a very stressful day. The disagreement was my fault; I was being petty."

"I understand," Anna reassured the blonde. "A lot happened to us today."

"How were you so calm?" Elsa asked. "I mean, once we were out of the castle, you just took everything in stride."

"We ran away and-" Anna stopped in the middle of her sentence, clutching her sisters arm. "Elsa, we ran away and are alone in the woods. They shot at us. Dogs were sent after us. We can never go home."

Anna began hyperventilating. Elsa reached over and started rubbing small circles on her little sister's back to try to calm her down. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't been in the kitchen yesterday, none of this would have ever happened." Anna whispered.

"Anna," Elsa tried to maintain a soothing voice while still conveying the sincerity of her statement. "I'm glad you helped Kai in the kitchen yesterday. I wouldn't exchange the past twenty-four hour for anything. We may be alone in the woods, but we are alone together. I have my little sister back." Elsa paused as tears began to form in her eyes, "That's all I ever wanted."

Anna carefully repositioned herself so that she could lean against Elsa. The older girl immediately embraced her sister.

"I just don't understand any of it." Anna said softly. "Why did he that stuff to you? And why did mother never stop him?"

"I think mother was afraid of him as well." Elsa tried to explain.

"In the castle, you were amazing with your powers, but you left frost in the apple tree…" Anna's question trailed off, but Elsa understood.

"I'm not usually that in control in the castle. By the time father is done with me there is at least a light snow. I was thinking about it today. The only conclusion I could come up with was that everything I did this morning, I did trying to protect you. The apple tree was a very mild taste of what usually ends up happening around me; I'm usually a monster." Elsa's words were sad, apologetic.

"You're not a monster," Anna chastised with a yawn. "And I will continue telling you that until you believe it." With that, the younger girl snuggled into her sister's arms and fell asleep.

"I hope you're right." Elsa muttered, before she too drifted off to sleep.

* * *

That night in the castle, the chief guard approached the King. "Your majesty," the guard addressed his monarch on his knees. "The princesses were heading west in the woods, but the dog's mysteriously lot their scent. We searched for them all day, but there is no trace of them anywhere. Shall we try again tomorrow?"

The King stood with his back to the guard. "No, let nature have them. They have made their decision, and so have I. We will arrange for funerals. The princesses fell strangely ill and died. There will be two days of mourning and a joint grave will be dug. See to it that the arrangements are made."

The guard bowed and left to complete his task. The King remained in the throne room alone, staring out at the forest.

* * *

Miles away in that very forest, two girls slept in a tree, unaware that they were now safe from their father's wrath.


	3. a morning in a stream

**Just a quick note: I have a few more chapters planned for this story, so I changed it to "in-progress"**

**I own nothing!  
****Warning: This story contains child abuse.  
FYI: Anna is about 13 and Elsa is about 15 (just saying)  
Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

The sun shone through the trees landing on two girls sleeping in the pines. The elder blonde's eyes fluttered awake. She moved as if to stretch, but was stopped by a tightening sensation in her shoulders and back. Her stiff movement woke the younger girl, who had her head resting against her sister.

"Hmm, good morning, Elsa." Anna said sleepily.

"Hey," Elsa greeted, and then hissed in pain as she tried to move. "Do your muscles hurt?"

Anna carefully stood and stretched as she spoke. "They are a little sore, but nothing I can't ignore. Why?"

"I can barely move." Elsa said with a scowl.

"Oh, here, I think I can fix that, at least a little bit." Anna got Elsa to lie across a branch, while she sat on the one next to the blonde.

"Anna, what are you-" Elsa began to ask, when she felt warm hands rubbing her shoulder blades.

Anna pressed her fingertips into Elsa's back, trying to massage the pain away. "Where did you learn to do this?" Elsa questioned, relishing in the relief her sister brought.

"When I was younger, I would get sore from climbing trees all day. This is what the maid use to do to me." Anna replied.

"Is that why you aren't as sore as me?" Elsa pressed.

Anna sighed. "I was an active child. Always running around and climbing anything I could. I guess my body just got use to all of the activity."

"I remember I saw you once." Elsa spoke quietly, "you climbed the tree outside of my window."

"Yeah, but the curtains were closed. Father yelled at me for that. He told me you complained about me bothering you." Anna said sadly.

"What?" Elsa exclaimed. "That was one of my happiest days in that room. It made me think you still cared for me."

"I never stopped, but I was led to believe you didn't like me anymore."

Elsa fought to keep the tears at bay. "Is that why you stopped knocking?"

"Yes."

Elsa paused, scared to ask the question eating away at her. "Is, is that what Father told you?"

"Yes." Anna's answer came out in a squeak.

Immediately, the temperature dropped. Elsa sat up slowly with a grimace, and opened her arms to her sister. Anna moved into them and the two sat in silence, just starting to understand how much the man they called 'father' had driven the two apart.

When the temperature began to rise again, they released one another, and Anna spoke. "Here, I have one more thing that might help your soreness."

Anna led Elsa through a series stretches. Afterwards, Elsa felt much better than when she woke up. The girls then had apples for breakfast. "So where should we go?" Anna pondered out loud.

"Let's start with the waterfall." Elsa suggested. "We can figure it out from there."

They collected their remaining apples, and walked the short distance to the waterfall. Anna sat on a rock an admired the cascading water while Elsa paced behind her, leaving frosty footprints. "It is quite lovely, but we really should be moving on." Anna turned to her sister and saw the frost. "Elsa, are you okay."

The blonde stopped, "Just anxious. Let's get moving."

"Which way should we go?" The younger girl asked.

Elsa looked around. "The stream flows in the general direction we were traveling yesterday. Want to just follow it?"

Anna nodded, "Let's walk in it. It will be easier than climbing in the trees or fighting through the undergrowth."

Elsa agreed. They took off their shoes, tying the laces together to hang around their necks, and started off down the stream. The water was shin deep and cool, with a reasonably smooth bottom. This allowed for the girls to travel in a comfortable fashion at leisurely pace. As they walked, Anna slipped her hand into Elsa's. The older girl flinched, but accepted the gesture. They continued walking, joined hands swinging back and forth.

"So tell me," Elsa said, trying to start conversation. "Besides climbing trees, what did you do with your time?"

"A lot of running around and a lot of getting into trouble." Anna began, wanting to fill Elsa in on all the missing years. "At first, when you stopped showing up to our lessons, I decided I didn't need to go either. I played hide-and go-seek with my tutors almost every day for two months."

"Really, your tutors played hide-and-go-seek with you?" Elsa questioned.

"Well," Anna said slowly. "It was more along the lines of 'where is that damn princess'."

"Anna, where did you learn such language?!" Elsa exclaimed in faux surprise.

"It was a common sentence uttered by the tutors I had looking for me," Anna replied with a grin.

Both girls giggled. "Okay, what else did you do?" Elsa continued.

Anna tilted her head in thought. "I rode the bike a lot, and crashed into the suits of armor."

"I remember hearing them fall over a few times, and then it stopped." Elsa interjected.

"The first time was an accident, I swear! The armor fell over and scattered across the floor. Father thought a good punishment would be to make me put it back together all by myself. It turned out that fitting the pieces together was like a puzzle, and I had fun doing it. I crashed into four other suits so I could put them back together before father caught on. After the fifth crash he took the bike away."

Elsa was laughing. "And was that the end of your crashing into armor?"

"Of course not," Anna replied, "I tried to hit the one at the bottom of the stairs by sliding down the banister, but missed. I managed to break a vase, and that was the end of my trying to knock over the armor. After that, I took up conversing with the painting."

Elsa glanced over at her sister in concern. "Did they have anything interesting to say?" The blonde asked, trying to maintain the light conversation.

"No, they were more of the listening types. Talking to them just made me feel better when I was upset." Anna answered with an undertone of melancholy. "What about you? Didn't you do something in your room?"

"When I wasn't huddled in a corner, I was studying," Elsa said ruefully.

Anna stopped walking, pulling Elsa to a stop as well. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked something like that."

"Don't be sorry," Elsa insisted. As they began walking again, Elsa slid her hand out of Anna's to wrap it around the younger girl's shoulder. Being a head shorter than the blonde, Anna was able to rest her head where Elsa's arm met her torso. Anna also wrapped her arm around Elsa's waist.

"What sort of stuff did you study?" Anna asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Just about everything: math, languages, history, law, you name it. They tried to get me to take up sewing, but I was awful at it."

"What was your favorite?" Anna pressed.

"Economics," Elsa answered simply. "What about you? What was your favorite subject?"

"I never really had a favorite," responded thoughtfully. "I enjoyed anything that required creativity, but I also really like parts of my history lessons."

"Why only parts?" Elsa inquired.

"The politics got a little boring, but I loved learning about the people. My tutor and I would always argue because he saw them as one-dimensional characters we could label, and I saw them as complex people with a story. I was very against his labeling methods because people are so much more than one word descriptions."

Elsa glanced at her sister again, this time in admiration. Anna continued talking about her favorite historical figures while the blonde walked beside her. Elsa was simply amazed by how much her sister had grown up over the past years. She knew she had missed out on a lot, but was just beginning to understand the full repercussions of her father's actions. The blonde grew angry. As she brought her foot down on the water, it met something hard. Elsa simply stepped up onto the solid form, and thought nothing of it, until she was no longer holding Anna as she walked. Looking down in alarm, Elsa saw she was standing on a block of ice that had also encased Anna's feet.

"Anna, I'm so sorry. You're not hurt, are you? I didn't mean to. I was thinking about father, and just got so angry!"

"Elsa." Anna spoke firmly, cutting off her sister's hysterics. "I'm not hurt. Can you melt the ice, please?"

Elsa tried to concentrate, but only succeeded in making the ice spread further. "I can't." Elsa stated dejectedly.

Anna sat on the ice, with her feet still trapped when an idea formed. "Elsa," she tried again, "come here?" Anna asked, patting the ice beside her. Elsa slowly approached her and sat down. The younger girl pulled the blonde closer and hugged her tightly. "Your powers are connected to your emotions, aren't they?" Anna asked quietly.

Elsa nodded, and began murmuring to herself, "Conceal, don't feel. Monsters are not allowed to show emotion." An icy gust of wind came, making Anna shiver.

"That's not true." Anna stated.

Elsa paused. "What?"

Anna pulled back to look at the blonde. "It isn't that monsters aren't allowed to feel, it's that they can't. Monsters are indifferent to everything. That's why they are destructive. They don't care. That just proves that you are not a monster. If you were, this," Anna gestured to the ice around them, "would not have happened."

Anna paused to brush a tear off of Elsa's cheek. "He makes me so angry." Elsa whispered, as flurried began to fall.

Anna nodded. "It isn't your fault. You have a lot of bad memories associated with him. I know this is way easier said than done, but try to avoid dwelling on him, and if your thoughts stray in that direction, think of me."

Elsa, still in a very dark place inside her mind, began verbalizing her thoughts. "Us, playing in the ballroom. You jumped. I tried to catch you, but I slipped. A shard of ice hitting you in the temple. You were freezing. Hearing you cry outside my door." Sleet was falling and being blown around with great gusts of wind. Spikes rose out of the ice around the girls.

Anna pulled Elsa close to her, stroking her hair in a vain attempt to calm the older girl. "No, no, no. The past is in the past. We can't change that, but I'm here with you now." The spikes slowly receded, spurring Anna to continue, "I love you, more than words can convey. I will never leave you side." The wind and sleet died down, allowing Anna to drop her voice to a gentle purr. "When you think of me, think of me as we are now: together and happy. No one is here to pull us apart."

Both girls yelped and let go of each other as the ice beneath them vanished. Anna began to laugh, untying her bundle from her back. She tossed it to the side before taking Elsa's and tossing it next to her own. Their shoes shortly followed, all while remaining seated in the waist deep water.

"Anna, what are you doing?" Elsa asked with a hint of confusion as Anna began undoing her braids.

"It's about time we took a break. Might as well try to wash up a little." Anna replied with a smirk. The younger girl held her nose and lay back until she was completely submerged. She came back up a few seconds later, pushing her drenched hair out of her face.

"There is no way that worked." Elsa commented with a raised eyebrow.

Anna leaned back on her elbows. "No, but it still feels nice, a little less grimy."

The blonde shrugged before she dunked herself under as well. After she resurfaced, Elsa moved closer to the bank to lean against a rock jutting out into the water. Anna scrambled to sit next to her. Elsa leaned over, placing her head on Anna's shoulder. "How do you do it?" the blonde asked absentmindedly.

"Do what?"

"Say the perfect thing to calm me down."

A light blush appeared on Anna's cheeks. "Oh, I- uh, it's just. I don't know." Elsa chuckled softly. "Hey," Anna spoke up as she remembered something. "How is your back feeling?"

"It's alright, but I really needed this break." Elsa admitted.

"We have all of the time in the world." Anna remarked.

The irony of the statement was not lost on Elsa.


	4. declarations of death

**I own nothing!  
****Warning: This story contains child abuse.  
FYI: Anna is about 13 and Elsa is about 15 (just saying)  
Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Anna and Elsa followed the stream until late in the afternoon, when they came to the point where the stream ran into a wide river. Both girls stood on a rock, gazing out over the water. "We should cross it." Elsa stated. "In case they are still trying to track us."

Anna shook her head. "It is too dangerous. We don't know how deep the water is and the current could be way faster than it appears."

"You jumped right into the stream without any hesitation." Elsa pointed out.

"It was clear and narrow; this river is at least a fifty yards wide and murky." Anna pointed out as she kicked a stick into the water below them.

The blonde watched the ripples as they marred the surface of the water until an idea formed. Grabbing Anna's wrist, Elsa pulled the younger girl to the water's edge. Turning to her sister, Elsa spoke, "I want to try something. It might not be a good idea, and if you don't want to, then I won't make you."

"Elsa what are you talking about?" Anna cut in.

"If I can make a solid path for us to walk on, would you trust it?" Elsa asked, still holding onto Anna's hands. The blonde knew she was asking a lot from Anna, who, just hours ago, had witnessed Elsa lose any semblance of control over her powers. The elder girl asked, but only because she wanted to make sure there was no way they could be followed.

Anna opened her mouth to answer when they heard a low growl coming from the trees. Elsa's gaze slowly shifted from Anna to the woods behind the shorter girl. There, standing at the top of the sloping hill, stood three large, grey wolves. Elsa's crystal blue eyes locked with glowing yellow ones as saliva dripped from the beasts' open mouths. The wolves crouched, preparing to pounce. Elsa's grip on Anna's hand tightened.

"Run," the blonde commanded.

She spun on her heels and stepped onto the water, creating a place for her foot out of ice. She dragged Anna across the water, never looking back. Elsa's only goal was to reach the safety of the opposite riverbank. When they got to the other side, Elsa flung herself onto the dry ground. Anna stumbled and fell next to her sister. They could still hear the howls of the beasts on the other side.

Elsa sat up to see Anna huddled on the ground shivering violently. "Anna!" Elsa exclaimed placing a timid hand on the younger girl's side, "Are you hurt?"

Anna's watery eyes flicked up to Elsa and said, "They were so scary." Her words were a shaky whisper.

Elsa pulled Anna into her lap, hugging the terrified girl to her chest. "I'm sorry Anna. I shouldn't have pulled you onto the river like that. It was so reckless of me."

The younger girl slowly stopped trembling as the blonde's words sunk in. "Elsa, you saved us. There is no reason for you to apologize."

"But you said you were scared."

Anna rolled her eyes. "There were wolves that could have killed us. Of course I was scared, but now we are safe." Elsa began to blush at her own self-consciousness. "And for the record," Anna continued, "I would have followed you onto the ice even without the wolves. I believe in you."

Elsa squeezed her sister closer, wondering where Anna's unlimited supply of patients came from.

* * *

The sun began to set over the city as the king, dressed in black, ascended the steps to the platform in the public square. The trumpeters played as the fires were lit to bring everyone's attention to the somber monarch.

"My good people of Arendelle," the king began. "I bring terrible news. Last night, the princesses went to bed feeling slightly ill. This morning I awoke to find both Princess Elsa and Princess Anna, my beloved daughters, dead. I know this tragedy comes as a shock to us all." The king paused as he fought to control his emotions. "Not long after I lost my beautiful girls, my darling wife died of grief."

The king placed his hand over his face as a silent sob ripped through his body. People in the crowd took the moment to make calls of "bless your majesty," to show their sympathies.

The king took a deep breath and finished his speech, "In honor of these untimely deaths, I decree all of Arendelle will observe two days of mourning for the deceased." When the king concluded the guards led their mourning sovereign down the stair and into the carriage followed by the chief guard.

"That was an excellent show your majesty," the chief guard praised as the carriage pulled away. "The sobs were a good touch."

The king sat back against the cushion of his seat with a sneer. "Thank you. Now, I have one more little job for you."

"Anything, your majesty." The guard replied.

The king leaned forward and lowered his voice as he spoke, "Just like the girls didn't fall ill, the Queen didn't die. She found out that they ran away. She is now locked in her private chambers, tied to a chair." The king paused to pull a set of keys out of his pocket. "I want you to take her and put her in the secret dungeon located in the cellars of the castle. These keys will open the door to her rooms and the dungeons. Once that is done, report to my study."

The guard bowed his head as he accepted the keys.

* * *

Back in the city, leaning against a wall there stood a well built boy with dirty blonde hair. As he fed a carrot to the reindeer next to him he spoke. "Well, what do you think, Sven?"

Changing his voice, the boy answered his own question for the animal. "How should I know? I'm just a reindeer."

The boy chuckled. "Good point, buddy. Let's get out of here." He attached Sven to the empty ice cart before climbing in and driving towards the forest.

* * *

In the castle, the halls were empty, save for two sets of footsteps. The chief guard escorted the tied and gagged queen through the passages and down a set of stairs. Hidden behind a tapestry was an old wooden door. Pausing to pull out the ring of keys, the chief guard opened to door to reveal a dark hall. To the left, there were three cells. The guard cut the ties holding the queen's wrists, pushed her into the middle cell, and locked the door. Without a word, he left the woman in the dungeons in complete darkness.

The chief guard left the cellar and made his way to the king's study. When he reached the large oak doors he knocked, and was told to enter.

"Your majesty, the task you appointed to me has been done." The guard addressed his master on a bent knee.

"Good. Please take a seat." The king replied gesturing to the nearby chair. The guard did as he was asked. Once he was seated, the king held out his hand, "The keys," he demanded.

The guard held out the ring to his sovereign. "If I may ask," the guard ventured, "why was it necessary to lock up the queen?"

The king seemed to ignore the question. "Which cell did you place her in?" he asked.

"The middle one, sire." The guard replied.

The king took the key to the mentioned cell off of the ring and handed it back to the chief guard. "I need you to swallow this."

The guard looked from the piece of metal in his hand to the monarch. Under the king's gaze, he put the key in his mouth and forced it down his throat. The king placed the rest of the keys in the top drawer of his desk.

"Would you care for some wine?" The king offered.

"Please, your majesty."

The king stood with his back to the guard as he poured two glasses of wine. He handed one to the chief guard, who drank greedily. The king took his seat and swirled the wine in his cup. "To answer your question: like I said before, she found out that the princesses had run away. She came to me very upset that I was not looking for them. You see, the queen disagreed with me on my treatment of Elsa. The only thing that prevented her from voicing that opinion was my threats to harm Anna."

The guard finished his glass and was offered more as the king spoke. "It's funny," the king mused as the chief guard accepted his second glass of wine, "the same threats kept Elsa quiet. I don't know what they saw in that girl. Anna was an idiot, barely good for marrying off to some poor soul."

"If I may say, your majesty, you sound very confident that the girls died in the woods," the guard interjected. He placed his half empty glass on the corner of the desk, because he began to feel ill.

"I am," the king stated. "Elsa knew nothing about the world and had no control over her powers. Anna was stupid enough to run off with that monster she called a sister. There is no way they have survived." The king glanced at the chief guard. He looked back at his king with dilated pupils. The man's fingers were twitching and he struggled to breathe.

"But back to the queen," the king continued as if nothing were wrong with the man before him. "I had to lock her up because she knew too much. Secrets are better kept when the least amount of people possible know about them."

"Your majesty?" The guard questioned. Suddenly, he began convulsing in pain before he fell out of his chair, dead.

"And now I am the only one who knows." The king spoke to the corpse at his feet. He walked to the door and wrenched it open. "Help! Somebody come quickly! Death in the king's study!" He bellowed into the hall with a panicked tone.

A servant came running at the sound of his master's distress. "Your majesty, are you alright?" The man questioned with a bow.

"Yes, I was discussing matters of state with the chief guard when he fell over dead. I believe he was poisoned by that wine there." The king replied pointing at the now half empty pitcher.

"Did you drink any of it, sire?"

"No."

"Very well," the servant sighed, relieved that his master was well. "Shall I call the doctor to perform an autopsy on the chief guard, you majesty?"

"I think not." The king answered. "The people of Arendelle have already heard about the death of the queen and princesses. It would do no good to hear that their king came very close to his own demise. I want this to be kept hushed up." The king turned to leave the room.

"Your majesty, forgive me," the servant called. The king stopped in the doorway with his back to the servant, allowing the man to speak, "but what shall the chief guard's family be told?"

"He doesn't have any family." The king answered with a sly smirk. With that, he left his study, please with the way the events of the past couple days had turned out.


	5. meeting Kristoff

**I own nothing!  
****Warning: This story contains child abuse.  
FYI: Anna is about 13, Elsa is about 15, and Kristoff is about 14 (just saying)  
Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Dawn broke over the horizon to find a young blonde boy riding a cart pulled by a lone reindeer. The boy steered the cart to the side, slowing to a stop near the water's edge. "Come on Sven, we've been moving all night." The boy spoke to the reindeer.

Changing his voice, he then replied for his friend, "Grand Pabbie is expecting us home tonight. We should have left sooner."

"I know, I know," the boy sighed.

Both went towards the water intent on getting a drink, when the quiet of the early morning was shattered by a soft snore. The boy turned around, scanning the forest behind him. When the noise came again, his attention was directed to the trees above him. There, in the branches, sat two girls about his age fast asleep. One was blonde, her hair much lighter than his own. The second, smaller girl had auburn hair and was draped over the blonde's shoulder.

The boy and the reindeer glanced at each other before shifting their gaze back to the sleeping figures. Speaking in the reindeer's voice, the boy said, "You should wake them up. Offer to take them with us."

He shook his head, "Naw, they aren't my problem."

"They could die alone in the woods all by themselves." The reindeer voice countered.

"Again, not my problem." The boy said, looking at the reindeer.

In the reindeer voice he argued, "But they're pretty."

The boy sighed. "You aren't going to drop this, are you?" He asked. The animal shook his head in the negative. The blonde boy grumbled as he picked up a handful of moss and threw it at the girls. It hit the smaller of the two, startling her awake. The blonde's eyes opened more slowly, awoken by the movement of her companion. Both pairs of eyes focused on the boy below them.

"I knew removing our skirts was a bad idea." The blonde mumbled.

The smaller and seemingly bolder girl shushed the blonde before crawling along the branch closer the boy and reindeer.

"Anna, be careful!" The blonde girl insisted.

"Stop worrying, Elsa." The smaller girl replied.

The boy's head tilted to the left in thought as he gazed up at the strangers. "Wait, Elsa and Anna. Like the royal Elsa and Anna?"

"Ummm, no?" The girl who had been crawling along the branch stopped and backed away slightly. Her tone giving away that the boy's accusation was correct.

The boy stumbled back slightly, exclaiming, "You're dead! Ghosts!"

The blonde girl, Elsa, raised an eyebrow. "Who told you we were dead? I assure you, we are not."

"Bu-bu-but back in Arendelle, the king, the king, he said the princesses had die-died." The boy stuttered in fear.

Anna climbed down from the tree and slowly approached the boy. "It's okay; there is no reason to be afraid of us. The king lied. We ran away, and are very much alive." She placed her hand on the boy's arm. "See," she continued, "solid."

The boy calmed down and stood straight, "Right," he mumbled, "I wasn't scared."

Elsa scoffed at his assertion. "Who are you?" She demanded from her post in the tree, still very wary of the stranger.

"My name is Kristoff, that's Sven." The boy said pointing to the reindeer.

"What do you want?" Elsa asked.

"Well I saw you two in the tree and thought you looked a little out of place. You know, how often do you see two half dressed girls sleeping in a tree?" Both girls blushed and Kristoff paused as he realized what he said. "Not that I was looking!"

Elsa regained her wits and tried to get the boy to answer the question. "Your point, please." She said with as much dignity as she could muster in her state of embarrassment.

"Oh, I was wondering if you two had anywhere to go, or you needed a ride, or something." The boy trailed of as he looked at Elsa. "I've seen you before." He stated.

Elsa looked at Kristoff as if trying to place his somewhere in her mind. "No," she concluded, "I've never met you before."

"Well, uhh, where are you guy going? Need a ride?" Kristoff asked, changing the subject.

"We don't really have a destination." Anna chimed in. The younger girl had moved off to the side to pet Sven. "Where are you going?"

"Home," Kristoff said as he watched Anna. His gaze went back to Elsa as he recalled where he had seen the other blonde. "You're the ice girl." He remarked.

"What?" Elsa asked. Her eyes went wide.

Kristoff moved closer sure that he was right. "What if I told you that I lived with those trolls you visited as a little girl?"

Elsa nodded and held her hand out, palm up. In the center of her open had sat a large snowflake roughly the size of a fist. "Could you take us to them?" She asked.

"Yeah," Kristoff replied gawking at Elsa's hand until the snowflake disappeared. "Hop in." He said gesturing to the cart.

"Anna, come on." Elsa called to her sister, who had not heard the exchange between the two blondes.

Anna gave Sven on final pat before doing as she was told. "Where are we going?" She asked as she followed Elsa to the cart.

"Kristoff is going to take us to a safe place." The older girl answered.

Kristoff got Sven reattached and climbed into the driver's seat. Both girls climbed in the empty back and Sven began pulling the group towards their destination.

After about an hour of travel, Anna had fallen back asleep. Elsa sat stroking her sister's head as she scenery pass. "So, Kristoff," she began, "how you know about that night."

"Uhh," Kristoff thought for a moment. "Sven and I were in the woods when the horses went by. We saw the ice and followed it. Ice is kind of my life."

"So if you live with the trolls, why were you in the city?"

"You ask a lot of questions." The boy countered.

"Sorry," Elsa replied quietly. "I guess I'm not very good with social interactions."

"I understand that." Kristoff agreed. "I always thought reindeer were better than people anyway. Isn't that right, Sven?"

Much to Elsa's surprise, the boy driving the cart changed his voice to answer for the reindeer. "That's right, he always preferred my company."

"Right, so if you dislike people so much, why were you in the city?" Elsa pushed her question, choosing to ignore Kristoff's strange habit.

"I'm an ice harvester and seller. Ice is my life and I love the stuff!"

Elsa chuckled. Her movements stirred Anna from her slumber and the blonde girl's attention moved to her sister. The younger girl stretched, and scratching the back of her head asked what time it was.

"About mid-morning." The ice harvester told her.

Anna settled against the opposite side of the cart, facing her sister, and the three companions traveled through the woods until late in the afternoon.

* * *

Elsa found herself being shaken awake by her very excited sister. "Elsa, look! Kristoff says were are almost there and the earth is shooting steam out of the ground."

Elsa sat up and took in their surroundings. The forest had thinned out and the ground became rocky. As Anna had said, steam was shooting into the air through cracks in the ground.

Suddenly, Kristoff cleared his throat, "Uhh, since we will be there in a few minutes, I should probably warn you: my family can be a little… much."

Anna giggled. "I'm sure they're wonderful."

Kristoff smiled, but kept it hidden from the girls. "We're here." He said simply as he pulled the cart to a stop.

Anna and Elsa climbed out of the back in time to see the boy walk into the middle of a clearing talking to a group of boulders. Anna glanced at her sister. "Elsa?" She asked in a hushed tone, "Are you sure this was a good idea?"

Elsa seemed to be oblivious to the younger girl. The blonde's gaze fixed of the boy. Both girls were startled when a large rock rolled right between them. They noticed that the rocks around Kristoff had also begun to move. Anna let out a small yelp when one of the rocks seemed to sprout arms, legs, and a head. The small creature threw its hands in the air and exclaimed, "Kristoff's home!"

There was cheering everywhere and suddenly one of the creatures were behind the girls, exclaiming, "And look! He brought girls!"

The clearing was filled with even more cheering. Anna smiled and waved awkwardly while Elsa tried to hide the blush forming on her cheeks. Then, Elsa and Anna were pushed by the small creatures towards the center of the clearing. The sensation brought violent memories back, throwing Elsa into a panic. She rose ten feet into the air on a pedestal of ice. Menacing spikes protruded around the walls. Everyone jumped back in fear.

Once Anna regained her senses, she simply gazed up to her sister in sorrow. She did not quite understand what had set the blonde off, but still understood that something had frightened her sister. Anna was pulled from her thoughts by the presence of an elderly looking creature beside her. He too gazed up at the girl on ice in sorrow before he called up to her, "Please, your highness, come down. I'm very sorry my kinsmen frightened you. I promise we mean no harm."

Slowly, it spikes melted and the pedestal sank back into the ground. Elsa was left huddled on the ground, her knees to her chest. "Elsa?" Anna questioned, approaching her sister cautiously. Elsa lifted her head to look at the younger girl. She had tears crawling down her face and dilated pupils. Anna knelt beside her sister, but the older girl shied away from the contact. Elsa rested her head on her knees. Anna remained by her side looking around her desperate for help.

The elderly creature spoke again, addressing his kinsmen, "Okay, all of you about your business." He paused, glancing at the blonde boy still standing in the middle of the clearing. "Kristoff, you stay."

The boy nodded and moved to the edge of the clearing to sit on a log. The rest of the small creatures assumed their rock forms and rolled into the woods. When the elderly creature turned back to the girls, Anna was looking at him intensely. "You're trolls, aren't you?" She asked hesitantly.

The elderly troll nodded, "My name is Pabbie." His attention turned to Elsa, who was still curled up on the ground. "Elsa, it's okay. No one got hurt. You're safe."

The blonde girl slowly lifted her head to meet Pabbie's gaze. "Please help us." Elsa begged. The troll sat by the girl, placing his rocky hand on her shin.

"What is it, child?" He asked solemnly.

Anna had been sitting off to the side, deep in thought. "Wait," she interjected. "Elsa, you told me my memory of you having powers was wiped, and no one here seemed overly surprised that you had powers. Are the trolls the ones that took my memories?"

Elsa nodded. Anna addressed Pabbie. "Does that mean you can restore them?"

Pabbie sighed. "I can, but it is very dangerous. The old memories will clash with the ones that I put there. It could cause severe damage to you mind."

"But I want to remember my childhood for what it was!" Anna insisted.

"It's too dangerous." Pabbie calmly stated.

"It's not fair! I'm always the one left in the dark!" Anna exclaimed. The younger girl jumped up and ran into the woods.

"Anna!" Elsa called after her.

The blonde girl moved to stand, but Pabbie stopped her. "Give her space, Elsa. She may need time to come to terms with everything."

Elsa looked where Anna had disappeared. "What if she gets lost, or hurt. I have to go after her."

Pabbie nodded, "Kristoff," the troll called. The boy straightened at the sound of his name. "Go make sure she is okay?" The elderly troll asked, nodding in the direction Anna had run off in.

Kristoff walked by Pabbie and Elsa. "Be gentile." The troll reminded.

"I will." The boy assured them.

Elsa made eye contact with him. "Thank you." She said quietly.

He nodded, before vanishing among the trees.

"Now," Pabbie said as he turned back to Elsa, "why don't you and I have a little talk?"


End file.
